Legoland Explained

Legoland Parks
Type:Subsidiary
Foundation: (Legoland Billund)
Industry:Theme parks, attractions, family entertainment centers
Parent:Merlin Entertainments

Legoland (trademarked in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family amusement parks focusing on the Lego building toy brand. They are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainments, which shares a common owner (Kirkbi A/S) with The Lego Group.

The Legoland Billund Resort opened in Billund, Denmark in 1968, followed by the Legoland Windsor Resort in Windsor, UK in 1996. Further parks opened in Germany, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates (Dubai), the United States (California, Florida, and New York), and a Legoland Water Park at Gardaland in Castelnuovo del Garda, Italy in 2021. Parks in Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan and Shenzhen are currently under construction.

Attractions

The parks are marketed to families with children between ages 2–12[1] and most attractions are geared towards younger children. Attractions consist primarily of outdoor flat rides, dark rides, interactive play structures, and splash pads, as well as designated stations for playing with Lego bricks.[2] [3]

Parks

There are 11 Legoland parks currently in operation and 4 planned parks.

Asia

SiteCityCountryOpenedDetails
Legoland Malaysia ResortIskandar Puteri,Johor15 September 2012The first Legoland in Asia. Initially, there are 8 themed areas of attractions for all ages which are: Miniland, The Beginning, Lego Ninjago World, Land of Adventure, Imagination, Lego Kingdoms, Lego Technic, and Lego City. The centerpiece of the park is Miniland, where almost all Asian landmarks were built using Lego bricks. A companion Legoland Water Park was built by 11 March 2016.
Legoland DubaiDubai31 October 2016[4] It was originally scheduled to open in 2011 in Dubailand as "Legoland Dubailand",[5] but was then delayed until October 2016 and is now located at Dubai Parks and Resorts and Water Park as "Legoland Dubai".[6] It has 6 areas: Factory, Lego City, Imagination, Kingdoms, Adventure, and the first indoor Miniland. The Park contains over 15000 Lego models by using 15 Million Lego Bricks.
Legoland Japan ResortNagoya1 April 2017[7] On 30 June 2014, Merlin and Nagoya city officially announced that they had signed a contract to construct Legoland Japan, to open in Nagoya harbour, Japan, in February 2017.[8] Construction officially began 15 April 2015.[9] The park was expected to cost around US$15 million to construct for the first stage.[10] The park officially opened on 1 April 2017. The second stage of the Legoland was completed in 2021.
Legoland Korea ResortChuncheon,Gangwon Province5 May 2022[11] It is the first Legoland built on an island and is Asia's largest Legoland at nearly 1.3 million square meters including a Lego hotel, condos, water park, spa and outlets.[12] Construction of the bridge connecting the Legoland island to Chuncheon Station officially began on November 28, 2014, and construction of the theme park finished by 26 March 2022.[13] Located next to Seoul Metropolitan Subway's Chuncheon Station, the site is a 1-hour trip from Seoul via the ITX train. The park officially opened on 5 May 2022.

Europe

SiteCityCountryOpenedDetails
Legoland Billund ResortBillund7 June 1968[14] The oldest Legoland and was built near the original Lego factory. It is divided into ten different worlds: Duplo Land, Imagination Zone, Legoredo Town, Adventure Land, Miniland, Pirate Land, Lego City, Knights Kingdom, Viking Land, Ninjago World, Lego Movie World, and Polar Land. The park has 1.6 million visitors annually, making it the largest tourist attraction in Denmark outside Copenhagen.
Legoland Windsor ResortWindsor, Berkshire17 March 1996Built on the site of the previous Windsor Safari Park. There are twelve areas in the park: The Beginning, Bricktopia, Miniland, Duplo Valley, Heartlake City, Lego City, Land of the Vikings, Kingdom of the Pharaohs, Ninjago World, Pirates Shores, Knights Kingdom and Lego Mythica. It is the largest Legoland park in the world in terms of area – its area is approximately five times greater than that of Legoland Billund.
Legoland Deutschland ResortGünzburg17 May 2002The smallest Legoland outside of Asia. There are nine areas in the park: Imagination Center, Miniland, Lego X-treme, Lego City, Knights Kingdom, Adventure Land, Ninjago World, Land of the Pirates and Lego Mythica.The resort will see the addition of Peppa Pig Park for 2024, making it the second Legoland resort to have a non-Lego themed attraction and Peppa Pig theme park.[15]
Legoland Water Park GardalandCastelnuovo del Garda15 June 2021Standalone waterpark at Gardaland Resort.[16] [17] [18]

North America

SiteCityCountryOpenedDetails
Legoland California ResortCarlsbad, California20 March 1999The park is split into nine sections, which are: The Beginning, Explorer Island, Lego Movie World, Fun Town, Castle Hill, Miniland USA, Imagination Zone, Pirate Shores, Ninjago World, and Land of Adventure. A Sea Life aquarium is adjacent to Legoland California. In 2010, a water park opened on its grounds, as one of the only three of Legoland parks (Followed by Legoland Florida [Formerly known as Splash Island], Malaysia, and Dubai) to feature a water park. On 24 May 2014, an add-on was built for the water park, themed after Legends of Chima.
Legoland Florida ResortWinter Haven, Florida15 October 2011Legoland Florida opened a water park replacing the former Cypress Gardens "Splash Island" water park on 26 May 2012, and became a resort following the opening of the Legoland Hotel in 2013. A theme park in-relation to the children's animated series Peppa Pig opened on the resort grounds on 24 February 2022, making it the first Legoland Resort to feature a park based on a non-Lego related property.[19]
Legoland New York ResortGoshen, New York29 May 2021[20] New York, just south of the former Arden Hill Hospital. [21] The park was originally scheduled to open along with a hotel on 4 July 2020,[22] but the opening was pushed back until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, the park opened on 29 May 2021.

Future parks

Asia

SiteProposed locationCountryPlanned opening dateDetails
Legoland Beijing ResortFangshan District, Beijing2024Merlin Entertainments is continuing its expansion across China with plans for a new Legoland resort in the Fangshan district of Beijing. The resort will cover an area of 304,000 square meters and will house a theme park and hotel.[23]
Legoland Shanghai ResortJinshan District, Shanghai2024On 6 November 2019, Merlin and China Media Capital announced a £500 million joint venture investment to build a Legoland amusement park in Shanghai, China. It is expected to open in the area in Jinshan District after 2023.[24]
Legoland Shenzhen ResortDapeng New District, Shenzhen2024A Legoland Shenzhen Resort is planned to open in the Dapeng Peninsula in 2024. It is said to become the world largest Legoland Resort and will cover 580,000 square metres Construction has officially begun with a groundbreaking ceremony that outlined the plans for the huge brick-based theme park.[25] [26] [27]
Legoland Sichuan ResortChengdu, Sichuan2025On 27 September 2019, Merlin and Global Zhongjun announced a Legoland Resort in Sichuan Province. The resort was scheduled to open in 2023,[28] however this date was pushed back to 2025.[29]

Former parks

Europe

Cancelled parks

Europe

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: LEGO Attractions LEGOLAND . 2023-10-26 . www.lego.com . en.
  2. Web site: The Ultimate Guide to Legoland New York . 2023-10-26 . Parents . en.
  3. Web site: 2023-08-21 . Your Guide to LEGOLAND Florida Resort . 2023-10-26 . www.visitflorida.com . en.
  4. Web site: LEGOLAND Dubai Unveils Exciting Plans . October 15, 2015 . June 14, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150614205110/http://www.legoland.com/Global/141015_LEGOLAND%20Revealed_Eng.pdf . June 14, 2015.
  5. Web site: New Legoland Park to open in Dubai in 2011 . May 7, 2008 . Lego.com . May 3, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120317164303/http://parents.lego.com/en-gb/news/legoland%20dubai.aspx . March 17, 2012.
  6. News: Legoland Dubai 'will go ahead' despite delays - developer . Shane . McGinley . Arabian Business . April 26, 2010 . May 3, 2012.
  7. Web site: Yoshimoto . Minako . Long line marks opening of Legoland Japan in Nagoya . . April 4, 2017 . 4 April 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170404220035/http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201704020022.html . dead .
  8. .
  9. Web site: The Asahi Shimbun Weekly . The Asahi Shimbun . Getty Images. 16 April 2015 .
  10. Web site: New Park to Be Built . Legoland Japan . Scream scape . July 8, 2014 . July 31, 2014.
  11. Web site: Lee . Hae-rin . Legoland to open in Chuncheon May 5 . 28 March 2022 . . April 13, 2022.
  12. .
  13. http://www.seoulfn.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=407079 Legoland in Chuncheon is completed at the end of June, and Open next year after test
  14. Web site: Billund travel guide . World 66 . May 3, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160513083541/http://www.world66.com/europe/denmark/billund . May 13, 2016 . dead .
  15. Web site: Germany to get Europe's first stand-alone Peppa Pig Theme Park . 30 June 2023 .
  16. News: it. Legoland apre a Gardaland, e cerca 50 appassionati bagnini. Corriere della Sera. Brescia. 22 January 2020. 24 January 2020.
  17. Web site: it. Attrazioni e aree tematizzate di LEGOLAND® Water Park Gardaland che aprirà a fine maggio 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200124212123/https://www.legolandwaterparkgardaland.it/2020/01/legoland-water-park-gardaland-aprira-il-29-maggio-2020/. dead. 24 January 2020. 21 January 2020. 24 January 2020.
  18. Web site: LEGOLAND® Water Park to open at Gardalans resort, Italy in 2020. 11 July 2019. 24 January 2020.
  19. Web site: World's first Peppa Pig™ Theme Park to open at LEGOLAND® Florida Resort in 2022 .
  20. Web site: 2021-05-28 . Legoland N.Y. opens Saturday: Info on reservations and more . 2021-06-04 . silive . en.
  21. Web site: Legoland confirms plans to develop theme park in Orange County . Mid-Hudson News . Statewide News Network, Inc. . May 27, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160530005337/http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2016/May/27/Legoland_OC-27May16.html . May 30, 2016 . dead .
  22. Web site: LEGOLAND New York Resort Announces July 4th Opening. Herrmann. Michele. Forbes. en. 2019-10-12.
  23. Web site: 2022-02-21 . Merlin continues China expansion with plans for new Legoland in Beijing . 2022-08-01 . Blooloop . en-GB.
  24. Web site: Merlin announces LEGOLAND Shanghai Resort . Legoland Shanghai . November 6, 2019.
  25. News: Construction of the world's largest LEGOLAND has begun. Brick Fanatics. 18 September 2021 . en.
  26. Web site: Shenzhen Lagoland. 2021-02-12. Hazens. en. 5 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210805183420/https://www.hazensgroup.com/copy-of-hazens-zhongyang-yuanzhu-1. dead.
  27. Web site: BAUM CM. https://web.archive.org/web/20210514071422/https://www.baumcm.co.kr/en/project/index1.php?enter=rv&idx=241. dead. 14 May 2021. 2021-02-12. baumcm.co.kr.
  28. Web site: LEGOLAND Sichuan Resort. 2021-02-12. www.merlinentertainments.biz. en.
  29. Web site: 看房的小干 . 视高领地、乐高乐园两大楼盘是否停工?今日实地探访!_哔哩哔哩_bilibili . 2022-08-20 . www.bilibili.com . zh-Hans.
  30. .
  31. Web site: Hansa Park. Roller Coaster DataBase .
  32. Web site: Hansa-Park . de . DE . Meilensteine in der Geschichte des Hansa-Parks . July 26, 2014.
  33. Web site: Legoland heading to Belgium, Halloween is on at Legoland Windsor . Blooloop . 2020-09-14 . 2020-10-11.
  34. Web site: Un parc d'attractions Legoland à l'horizon 2027 sur le site Caterpillar à Charleroi . 2022-08-30 . RTBF . fr.
  35. Web site: French. Merlin renonce à construire un parc Legoland à Charleroi. 24 March 2023. L'Echo.